Ash Wednesday & Lent

This day is a holy day of prayer and the start of fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It marks the start of Lent, which marks the six weeks of penitence before Easter. Many Christians make a Lenten calendar, praying a Lenten daily devotional and making a Lenten sacrifice that they will not partake of until the arrival of Eastertide. They attend special church services at which churchgoers receive ash on their foreheads, which is where the name comes from. The ashes are prepared by burning palm leaves from the previous Palm Sunday’s celebrations. Ash Wednesday is always 46 days before Easter.